Author: wednesdaysisters

Welcome to the blog all about our lives.
Just for the record, we're actually not sisters. Not even cousins. Just friends who want to be sisters because we know too much about each other so we basically have no choice. Does that make sense? No? Okay, moving on.
Our life consists of loving Jesus, dancing, sleeping, coffee drinking, pinterest scrolling, napping (totally not the same thing as sleeping), hating school (hence the fact we're wasting our time doing this thing called blogging), & pretending to be on cooking shows while we cook & bake. We're also really emotional so proceed reading with caution.
Okie bye.

A little while ago we posted a blog on how we use a bullet journal. Since then we both have used many different layout styles and started using our journal in new ways. SO why not share it with all you beautiful souls?!?! As you’re reading, so you know who is writing what:Hannah will be writing in this colorand I(Kerri Anne) will be writing is this color.

Let’s get started!

Week layouts:

This has become my favorite way of organizing my days of the week! At the end of each week (typically on a Sunday evening…I like to start fresh on Monday’s) I will write the headers for the week. Then each morning after I brain dump (CHECK OUT this blog to figure what I mean by that) I’ll write out everything I have to do that day. Sometimes I get on a roll and plan out the following day or two. OR I’ll even do this: Plan out my day in the morning after brain dumping THEN in the evening if I have nothing to do I’ll do some blogging along with bullet journaling for the next day. Then I’ll lay it out on my cute little ottoman so when I wake I take a glance at my pre planned day, dump out some of creativity, and start with the productiveness.

HOWEVER! Boredom strikes so I like to change it up every other week with a new layout to put a fresh spin on planning my days. Keeps my life exciting! (..wow..re reading that makes me realize how lame I am) I also use this one below because it takes up less paper. So then I get extra pages for grocery lists and monthly school schedules! (..okay now I am even lamer)

So this is my plan B layout when I get bored of the other:

Monthly Planning:

When it comes to the beginning of each month I like to know what I have on my plate. Work, school, hot dates *mysterious smirk* (lol at my life. I wish)..well you get the picture..So I write a month at glance type of deal. Stating my goals for school work, activities, projects, etc. Listing my work schedule for the three jobs I have and writing down how much I make that month and how I’m going to split up my paychecks. Doing this right before the start of the month really clears my head. I don’t even know how to explain it. It’s just really nice to write down certain goals for that month and set a schedule that makes walking into a new month less stressful for me. So this is how I lay it all out:

Grocery Lists:

I freaking love grocery shopping. Like LOOVE it. Don’t ask me because I don’t know. I just do. SO of course I got to to have grocery lists in my bullet journal! Usually I will create a new grocery list each month. It’s almost always the same items but I try to search around all month to find new things to start eating and add the ingredients to my list. Throughout the month if I’m going on a weekend trip or just any trip at all I will create a separate grocery list for that certain event. This is what my grocery layouts usually look like:

Vacation Planning:

Some of my very favourite pages in my bullet journal are my vacation pages. Anytime I go out of town I make a packing list, and then I write down each day I will be on vacation. I usually plan things like my outfit, the weather, and what our plans are for that day. At the end of the day I write down all my favourite memories from that day. I usually have so much to write the page ends up looking a little cluttered, but I love having memories written down in my journal.

we have no pretty vacation planning pictures to share with you guys…sorry.

Monthly Memories:

I also love to dedicate a page to each month, where I write down some of my favourite memories. I usually try to decorate these pages with doodles relating to the memories. These are great pages to look back on, and I’m sure I’ll be happy I did them a few years down the road. Credit to Boho Berry for this idea (her pages are much pretty than mine to be honest)

If you would like even MORE ideas for your Bullet Journal, check out this post!

This warm, delicious oatmeal bake is the perfect breakfast treat! I love to make a batch on the weekend and eat it for the next few days. It tastes great on its own, but I love to add a spoonful of coconut cream!

Ingredients

2 cups of non-dairy milk

1/3 cup of maple syrup

2 ripe mashed bananas

1 tbsp vanilla

2 tbsp ground flax seed

3 cups of oatmeal

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tbsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 cup of berries (You could substitute for other fruit, like apples or more bananas)

Next, mix your oats, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and half of your fruit. Pour this mix into a greased pan (I use just a little bit of coconut oil). Then, take your milk mixture and pour it evenly over your oats. Take the remaining fruit and place it on top. This would be a great time to add nuts if you like! Bake for 35 minutes, and you’re done!

ENJOY!

If you end up making this recipe let us know how it goes and how you liked it in the comments below! Also if you made any personal changes and additions to the recipe!

PERSONAL STORY TIME: my goal for the year of 2017 (my junior year) is to graduate. I really want to get out of school so I can focus on where I want to go next with dance (which as of right now my long term goal is to end up in Texas) and not have to worry about papers being due and the stressful afternoons trying to solves questions like, 9 + 10, which I could’ve sworn was 21…guess not.

Anyways, back to the main topic. I’m always tired. Which leads to laziness, which follows in procrastination, which concludes in not getting anything done. I seriously need a butt load of motivation to do all the things I need to do.

Now what is motivation? it’s one action split into three steps: activation, intensity, and perseverance. Achieving what needs to be achieved requires all three. Alright, now that I’ve pointed out the obvious, that you need motivation to do this thing called life, let me get into how you find it and how you put it into action.

Unfortunately, tasks such as paperwork, chores, errands, etc. take much willpower. Sometimes even rewards to get it done. However, most of the time nothing will get done because of that little devil called procrastination. First step you got to take is eliminating all your excuses and motivations will soon follow.

One thing that stops you from taking action on a task is the fear of failing. Pretty positive you won’t succeed every time you do something. So if I ever have to do something that’s bigger than folding a load of laundry or running to trader joes I remind myself, “You will always fail before you succeed.” Don’t ever let the fear of failure wash away your motivation to do great things.

What about the times you just don’t feel like doing anything & you’re too tired? Well…why do you think there is that holy beverage called COFFEE. I love coffee. It helps me. It can help you too. Drink some and allow the motivation to swim down your throat with every sip of coffee you take. BUT in all seriousness…here’s what you should do: figure out the time of day you’re most productive. early in the morning, smack dead in the afternoon, or the evening. Once you’ve figured that out you plan your day around the time you’re most productive. This is where my bullet journal comes in handy. My productive time is the morning. I’ll get up with sun, drink some coffee, and write out what I have to do for that day. Sometimes I even get on a roll and end up planning the following three days. Just experiment and figure out the best way for you to plan your day where you can get everything you need done complete.

Another way to get yourself up and moving is a nice workout. Taking care of your body physically can do a great deal for you!!

Then there’s the problem of not knowing where to start. If you struggle with that problem then here’s what you should do. Start with a simple to do list. Prioritize your tasks from most important to least and start knocking them off one by one. It’s not as hard as you think…

One thing you should never do is give up. Keep making new goals and reaching for your dreams.

When I hear that word, change, I get a little uncomfortable. Change can be difficult, uncomfortable, and pretty terrifying at times.

The problem is, you won’t get anywhere without it.

Change will rip you out of your comfort zone and challenge you, and that’s what we all really need. One of the biggest changes I have ever experienced is moving from my comfortable, beautiful home in Canada, to the different, uncomfortable country of America. There were a lot of emotions ranging from excited, nervous, scared, lonely, and a lot of homesick. It took some time for me to adjust to my changed environment, and to get to a place where I felt at home. Once I got to that place, I was able to feel thankful for the change I had experienced.

My little world still changes often, and it can still be difficult to recover from changes.

We have to remember that change is necessary. You will not grow without it. I think there is a part of each of us that craves change, it’s just difficult to cross that uncomfortable bridge. There is so much beauty in change, never stop looking for it.

So if you’re facing changes, go into this change with bravery, excitement, hope, and gratitude. I am sure that on the other side of your change, there is an immeasurable amount of beauty. I’m going to end this with one of my favorite verses. Isaiah 43:19 always helps me to remember the joy, excitement and hope in change. If you’re in need of some encouragement, all of Isaiah 43 is a great chapter to read. God has a plan for you, and he is never surprised!

With the summer approaching everyone is buying a new summer wardrobe, finding the best bathing suits, making beach/pool plans, planning summer vacations, etc. What you’re about to read is a short blog sharing with you all the fun & fashionable must-haves for your summer.

Swimsuit

Pretty sure everyone lives in their bathing suit in the summer. So finding that perfect swimsuit is crucial in our opinion. Just the other day I was helping Hannah shop online for her bathing suit & she literally took forever. She was really struggling. However, in the end she found her perfect swim suit and recently so did I! Hannah found a swimsuit from Jolyn, and Kerri’s black bathing suit top is fromPanache.

Summer Clothes

I don’t know about you but I hate pants. Especially in the summer. So another summer must have is a closet full of dresses and skirts. Casual, formal, whatever floats your boat. And if you don’t like dresses and prefer pants. . . Well you go girl. Rock whatever your summer style is. A pair of cute sunglasses are also a must have for the summer. I get a new pair every year and I’m pretty sure it’s one of my favorite parts about summer. A few of our favorite stores are Cotton On (Kerri’s romper and Hannah’s Tank Top), Hollister (Hannah’s shorts), Target (Hannah’s Cardigan), and Buckle.

Make Up

Least favorite part about summer is the heat. Heat causes sweat and sweat causes gross, half-melted off make up. (*click on picture to see the description of product*)

Liquid, matte foundation from maybelline. This is my favorite liquid foundation! After this I then use the Maybelline FIT ME powder. It’s literally perfect.

Powder foundation from Sephora.

I love this face mist from juice beauty. I keep it in my bag and use it when I feel really hot and gross. It has a light, refreshing scent!

A Journal

A lot happens in summer. Going on road trips, weekend camping with friends, late night swimming in the lake, etc. Summer is the time to make memories so a journal is a great item to have. Writing at the end of your day or at the end of the week is really nice habit to get into. It’s also really nice to be able to look back at previous summers and relive those memories. The Black Bullet Journal is fromAmazon, and the gold dot one is from Target.

A book list

All those times when you’re laying on the beach, chilling by the poolside, or sitting in your room alone because all your friends are on vacation..You really need something to do besides scroll through Instagram over and over again. SO put together a book list! Find some really exciting books that will suck you right in. My favorite author is Ted Dekker. All of his books are AMAZING! I’ve even read a few of them more than once. They’re that good.

Take Advantage of the Warm Weather

This isn’t really a must have but I’m going to put it in anyways. Sometimes it might be tempting to stay in your cool air conditioned house, but soon you’ll be complaining about the cold weather, so go outside! Feel the sun on your skin while you take a walk, eat your breakfast, read your book, or chat with a friend. Also keep in mind that being outside will improve your mood, decrease stress, and give you a rocking summer tan!

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Pretty sure that concludes our Summer Must-Haves blog. So we hope you all have a fantastical and aesthetic summer. ♥

If you know me you know I LOVE to dance. If you know me really well you know i also love to do yoga. If you didn’t know that..well now you do.

I love yoga for so many reasons. In this blog, I’m going to share with you all the reasons why I love it and all the benefits that come with doing yoga.

• Improves the quality of your sleep. I don’t know about you but I love sleeping. I basically nap every moment I can ( SHORT STORY TIME: one time I decided to take a nap around 4pm. Usually, the time I start to get really tired. I woke up from that nap at 8pm, went downstairs and got some water and a snack, then I was in bed and asleep at 9pm…Slept all through the night too. That’s freaking talent.) Although I still have those nights where I’m not tired at all and I just know I’m not going to be tired for a while. So around the time I want to crawl in bed I take out my yoga mat and do a 20-30 minute, low-key yoga sequence. Mostly focusing on breathing, stretching, and engaging and working the core.

• Improves mental concentration and reduces stress. This is so true. Doing a yoga routine in the morning before anything else really puts you in a good place. If I know I have a busy day that requires a lot of concentration I will wake up early to do yoga. It basically works like magic. After my yoga routine (and my shower…) I feel ready to attack my day and everything I have written in my bullet journal.

stress loves to play a role in my life. along with Jesus and dance, yoga is my secret weapon. When I can’t go to the studio and dance I’ll pull out my yoga mat. Yoga is most definitely a great tool to de-stress.

There are so many more mental benefits that come with doing yoga. Now I want to share with you some of the physical benefits of doing yoga.

Increased core strength. Just think about it. All that balancing in different poses, shifting your weight from one pose to another and not falling down! It’s a lot of work! But it all pays off when you have that healthy and toned core.

Increases flexibility. Yoga isn’t just for toning your body. There are plenty of routines that mainly focus on flexibility. I try to include a lot of poses that increase flexibility into my toning routines.

Pretty positive Hannah & I are not your typical teenage girls. I mean we blog about recipes & ways to stay organized so you probably already figured…

We also really love grocery shopping. Our favorite place to shop would have to be Trader Joe’s. So many wonderfully organic and gluten free options. (interesting fact about us: we both can’t have gluten. we’re pretty special) Though they do have other options for people who are actually normal.

So let’s get on with this blog so you don’t exit out before we get to our point.

TOP 10 (Healthy) ITEMS AT TRADER JOE’S

Prices & Benefits

Roasted Coconut Chips. – This things taste like heaven!. . . if you’re a coconut lover. If not you might as well move on to the next item. A 2 oz bag for 1.99 is totally worth your money. It’s a healthy alternative to any other chip & it also will satisfy your sweet tooth.

Roasted Red Pepper Tomato Soup – I love a big bowl of soup on a rainy night or a cold afternoon. For only 2.79 you get a 32 oz container of tomato soup to enjoy any way you want. Low fat, low sugar, low calories, & worth buying more than one container.

Coconut Oil – A 16 ounce container for 5.99. Use for cooking and personal care. Use this item for baking, your hair, face, and even mixing with brown sugar to create a fantastic sugar scrub for your face or even legs before shaving. Yes, it’s weird. . . I will admit I use it for all of the above. It’s basically oil from heaven.

Ready-to-Eat Edamame – This one is a fantastic purchase for only *insert price here.* Throw these bad boys in stir fries, salads, soups, or just eat them by themselves as an appetizer.

Edamame Hummus – 8 oz tub for 2.49. Continuing on with the edamame theme from #4, this unique “hummus” is delicious. If you don’t like chickpeas but like the idea of hummus, this is a great product to try! I do however loove hummus, and all the ones I have tried from Trader Joe’s were excellent.

Pico De Gallo Salsa – 12 oz container for 2.99. This is a great salsa choice, as it tastes very fresh. I LOVE that there are only 7 simple ingredients: Fresh tomatoes, fresh onions, lemon juice, fresh jalapeno peppers, fresh cilantro, salt, dehydrated garlic. This Pico De Gallo is also a great source of a great source of vitamin C.

Hot salsa pictured, but I like the mild.

Crunchy Salted Peanut Butter with Flax & Chia Seeds – A 16 oz jar for 2.99. This is one of our all time favorite peanut butters! Any all natural peanut butter is a good source of protein, but this one also has a good amount of Omega-3 fatty acids from the chia and flax seeds.

Very Cherry Frozen Fruit Blend – 16 oz bag for 2.99. This is a great blend for smoothies! It has cherries (obviously), raspberries, blackberries, and blueberries. I love putting this blend with a banana or two, a handful of spinach, and some almond milk.

Gluten Free Whole Grain Bread – 12 oz, sliced loaf for 4.49. This is a great option for those who (like us!) can’t have gluten.

These are just ten of our favorite products at Trader Joe’s. There are many others, as well as a great selection of fruits and vegetables. We hope you love our list, and feel free to let us know your favorite items at Trader Joe’s!

Late February I (Hannah) got pulled into the pretty world of Bullet Journaling. Of course, I dragged Kerri along with me (because that’s what sisters are for).

Anyways now we’re obsessed and love listening to music, drinking coffee, and bullet journaling. So I guess you might be wondering what exactly is bullet journaling anyways? Why should you care? Ryder Carroll created the original Bullet Journal system, and it’s basically a simple way to organize your life. He has helpful pictures as well as a video on the website: http://bulletjournal.com/. The great thing about Bullet Journaling is it’s very customizable and easy. We’re a little over a month into using our journals, so we thought we would share our favorite uses.

Daily Planning – This is probably one of the most common ways to use a bullet journal, and it’s very helpful. You can make your plans really simple, or very detailed and pretty. Personally, it really depends on how much time I have. Here’s one of my (Hannah) more detailed plans. It was very much inspired by the blog Boho Berry (along with a lot of my other pages). The numbers along the top are hours in the day, each color is kind of a plan and helps me to see a rough outline of my day (blue for sleeping, pink for dancing, etc.). I then separate my tasks and plans by school, chores, and events. I also included a water counter and the weather. This page was a lot of fun to make, but I definitely do not have the time for it everyday. I also really like to put a quote or verse at the end of a page.

On the left is one of Kerri Anne’s pages, and it is a more simple, quick way to plan.

2. Meal Plans – Meal planning is a great tool for staying organized. People who meal plan tend to save money, because you know exactly what you need and are less likely to buy extra stuff. Pay attention to sales, and try to eat the fruits and vegetables that are in season; they taste the best and are usually cheaper!

3. Monthly Plans – At the beginning of every month we love to look ahead at what our plans, goals, and important birthdays are. It is really helpful to be able to see your month “at a glance”.

For this page, I like to write down any events I have, monthly goals, and important birthdays.

In my opinion, this is something you must have to get anywhere in life.

You need confidence when walking into a job interview. You need it to get through a performance (talking to all the dancers out there) or a game (talking to all the other athletes). Other places where confidence would be needed is when trying new things. but most importantly, you need to have confidence in yourself. If you’re not confident in who you are as a person, what you can do, & what you will do… well good luck my friend. Good luck.

However, I will admit something before I continue with this blog.

I am one of those people who have no self-confidence. So when I say this I’m not lying; having no self-confidence makes trying different things, going different places, taking leaps in life, & transitioning from one chapter in my life to another, very hard.

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Now I’m going to go on about the first type of confidence I listed above:

With zero confidence, the only thing you believe are the lies that you allow to be placed in your mind. Lies that will put you in a hole so deep that you feel absolutely helpless. At this point, you just go along with it, give into the lies, and stop believing in the person God made you to be and the places he has set for you to go.

For years now I have given into the lies that have destroyed my confidence. So now it’s really hard to look forward and attack opportunities. I’m afraid that the worst will happen because I don’t believe in myself & the things I can do. I tend to get so wrapped up in the fear & consumed in my lack of confidence that I forget the most important thing.

God.

When I remember that I have Him by my side, the little amount of faith I have in myself grows. Then I feel like I can accomplish my next step in life because I have God holding my hand, walking beside me.

Now going onto my next point that I listed above

I also remember that I am who I am because of HIM. That’s such a wonderful thing too. To be fearfully & wonderfully made in his image. It’s stupid really to get caught up in all the thoughts & lies that tell me I’m something else other than perfect in His eyes. Once I remember that I feel more confident in myself which makes taking the next step in life less intimidating… and I’m pretty sure we can all admit that the future is intimidating. Not knowing what’s going to happen. Or even when something terrible happens & you don’t know how it’s going to affect you.

I’ve learned over the past couple months that confidence plays a big part in life. If you don’t have any in yourself it’ll put a stop to following the path you’re meant to be on. You’ll miss out on a lot of great things because the fear that the lack of confidence placed in you made you stay where you are

So if I were to sum everything I just said & make my point stand out more, I would say this:

Have faith in yourself. Believe that you can accomplish great things. Have confidence in who you are as a person aka the beautiful masterpiece God created.

I dont know if I got more out of this then anyone else who reads it but it was worth a shot sharing my emotions & feelings. But I really do hope someone understood this blog & at least got a little something out of it.

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Verses that have helped me gain more & more confidence as the days go on.

“With him is only the arm of flesh, but with us is the LORD our God to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people gained confidence from what Hezekiah the king of Judah said.

(2 Chronicles 32:8)

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD, whose confidence is in him.

(Jeremiah 17:7)

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

SO of course we love to cook and enjoyed helping make dinners and breakfasts there. One night we made Stuffed Peppers and they turned out AMAZING. We kind of made it up as we went along and worked with what was in Miss Linda’s fridge.

Start by making your rice. We cooked a cup of jasmine rice, and then added a packet of Organic Quinoa and Brown Rice by Seeds of Change. This is seasoned with garlic and a few
other herbs. The Seeds of Change blend is already cooked so we simply stirred the two together once the jasmine rice was cooked.

Next, we diced 1 tomato, 1 small jalapeno (Be sure to remove all the seeds!), and about a cup of chopped kale. You can use whatever sounds good to you!

We used a Lemon Pepper Blend, Oregano, Garlic & Herb, and some Avacado Oil. We really don’t measure very often, but we probably used a little over a teaspoon for the spices and a teaspoon of Avacado Oil. Now would probably be a good time to heat your oven to about 350 F.

Now for the fun part! Cut your bell peppers in half, and remove all the seeds and stuff inside. We used 3 peppers, but we did have some of the “filling” leftover. Stuff your peppers with as much of the rice mixture as you can.

If you like cheese, you can sprinkle some on top of your peppers now. Parmesan, Cheddar, and Feta are a few good options for this recipe!

We baked these for maybe 10 minutes, and then broiled them for a little less than 5. Just keep an eye on them so they don’t burn under the hot broiler!

That’s it! We enjoyed our peppers with some Kale Salad, and GF corn bread. We hope you love this very versatile and delicious recipe!